Safety pins



May 31, 1955 s. E. MUNYER, JR

SAFETY PINS Filed Feb. 28, 1952 5 INVENTOR.

United States Patent My invention relates to safety pins.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a safety pin which, when removed from the goods, will automatically place itself in latched safety position by spring action, causing the tip end of the pin to move laterally of itself into a safety position in which the tip end of the pin will not be exposed.

A further object is to provide a safety pin having provisions for manually latching the pin in safety position, from which it may be manually released by onehand operation, ready for insertion into the fabric.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims.

In the drawings, in which an embodiment of my invention is shown,

Figure l is a face view of a safety pin, in closed position. embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section, somewhat enlarged, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the pin;

Fig. 4 is a face view of the pin, manually latched,

ready to be released for insertion into the fabric;

Fig. is a sectional view, somewhat enlarged, on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the pin showing the partial coil forming finger grip squeezed together to hold the pin in position for insertion into the fabric, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view, in general on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4, showing diagrammatically the vari- Ous positions successively assumed by the tip end of the pin when released from the safety catch and moved into latched safety position.

The safety pin construction shown comprises a pin 1, a shielding keeper 2 for the pointed end of the pin, and means for mounting the pin on the keeper. The

keeper comprises a pocket 3 having an entrance opening 4 faced to enable the entrance of the tip portion of the pin by movement of the pin laterally of itself. it has an abutment 5 opposite the entrance opening 4 for engagement with the side of the tip of the pin. The pocket has a final latch recess 6 therein extending to one side of the entrance 4 for enabling the tip end of the pin to move laterally of itself into the recess 6 after it has entered the opening 4. The keeper has a deflector guide 7 engageable by the tip end of the pin for guiding and deflecting the tip end of the pin for movement laterally of itself toward the opening 4 as it is moved toward and through the opening 4 against the abutment 5. The mounting means comprises spring means for supporting the pin and determining its path of movement and causing it to move laterally against the deflector guide 7 and along the guide and through the opening 4 against the abutment.

in order to preset the pin to facilitate its insertion into the fabric, the keeper is provided with an initial release recess 8 engageable by the tip end of the pin positioned to hold it against spring tension biasing it toward latching position.

2,709,288 Patented May 31, 1955 'ice The means for mounting the pin on the keeper 2 comprises a spring wire bent to provide a supporting bar 9 secured to the keeper, the pin being formed as an integral part of the wire, and a spring coil connecting the supporting bar and pin. The spring coil comprises a partial loop 10 extending from the end of the bar 9 remote from the keeper, a partial loop 11 extending from the end of the pin remote from the keeper, and a bar 12 connecting the loop portions. The portions of the partial loops remote from said connecting bar when released are spaced from each other by spring tension whereby manual pressure on said remote ends of the partial loops will cause the tip end of the pin 'fo move away from the abutment through the opening 4 when brought into alignment therewith.

The means for holding the partial loops 10 and 11 and the connecting bar 12 in position with respect to each other and to the supporting bar 9 and pin 1 comprise a sheet metal fastener 13 having finger portions 14, 15, and 16 bent to embrace the connecting bar 12, supporting bar 9, and pin 1, respectively. The bar 9 is secured to the keeper 2 by bending the end of the bar as indicated at 17 and beading the edge of the keeper over the bent portion of the bar as indicated at 18.

In use, preparatory to insertion to the pins in the fabric, one or more pins may be manually releasably latched in the safety catch depression 8 in the keeper as shown in Fig. 4. When thus set in safety catch position, the partial coil loops 10 and 11 are gripped between the thumb and finger of one hand and squeezed together to release the tip end of the pin from the safety catch 8 and hold the pin in the position shown in Fig. 6. In its movement from its position in Fig. 4 to its position in Fig. 6, the tip end of the pin follows in general the direction of the arrows A, assuming, successively, in general the position at C and D. The spring tension moves it from C to D. The springv tension in the coil portions, mounting bar, and pin is such as to bias the pin toward a plane through the axes of the pin positions shown at D and E in Fig. 7. The cloth may then be gathered in one hand and the pin inserted into the cloth by the hand gripping the partial coil loops 1%) and 11. The partial coil loops are then released, allowing the spreading tension in the partial coil loops to force them apart to the latched position shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This spreading apart of the partial coil loops will cause the tip end of the pin to move from the position shown at D in Fig. 7 into engagement with the deflector guide '7 of the keeper as shown at E in Fig. 7. Further spring action of the spreading partial coil loops will cause the end of the pin to slide laterally of itself along the guide 7 into the entrance opening 4 of the keeper to the position shown at F in Fig. 7 against the abutment. portion 5 of the keeper.

The biasing spring action will then cause the tip end of the pin to move laterally of itself after it has passed through the opening from the position F to the position G.

When it is desired to remove the pin from the fabric, the tip end of the pin is removed from its position in the keeper 6 through the entrance opening 4 to the keeper substantially as in the ordinary safety pins; that is, by moving the tip end of the pin until it is opposite the entrance opening 4 and manipulating the fabric and pin so that the pin will be moved out of the pocket in the keeper through the entrance opening 4. The pin is then removed from the fabric by withdrawing it endwise. The pin will thereupon automatically close itself to safety latched position as previously described by 0 spring action which will cause the tip end of the pin to follow the path of the arrow A from position D through positions E and F to latched safety position G.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is desired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A safety pin construction comprising a pointed pin, a bar extending alongside said pin, pin-biasing spring means connecting adjacent ends of said pin and bar, and pin-guiding and latching means secured to the other end of said bar for guiding the pointed end of the spring-biased pin in its movement between unlatched and latched positions, said spring means acting to bias the point of the pin to bring it into a common plane with the bar and move it away from the bar to hold it in its final latched position, said latching means including also initial latching means for latching said pin point in said common plane nearer to said bar than said final latched position.

2. A safety pin construction comprising a pointed pin, a bar extending alongside said pin, pin-biasing spring means connecting adjacent ends of said pin and bar, and pin-guiding and latching means secured to the other end of said bar for guiding the pointed end of the spring-biased pin in its movement between unlatched and latched positions, said spring means acting to bias the point of the pin to bring it into a common plane with the bar and move it away from the bar to hold it in its final latched position, said latching means including also initial latching means for latching said pin point in said common plane nearer to said bar than said final latched position, said pin-biasing spring means ha ing manually operable means for holding said pin out of said plane when desired.

3. A safety pin construction comprising a pointed pin, a bar extending alongside said pin, pin-biasing spring means connecting adjacent ends of said pin and bar, and pin-guiding and latching means secured to the other end of said bar for guiding the pointed end of the spring-biased pin in its movement between unlatched and latched positions, said spring means acting to bias the point of the pin to bring it into a common plane with the bar and move it way from the bar to hold it in its final latched position, said latching means including also initial latching means for latching said pin point in said common plane nearer to said bar than said final latched position, said pin-biasing spring means having manually operable compressible coil spring means for holding said pin out of said plane when desired.

4. A. spring closing and latching safety pin construction comprising a pointed pin, a bar extending alongside said pin, pin-biasing spring means connecting the unpointed end of said pin and an end of the bar for biasing the pointed end of the pin toward latching position, pin-guiding and latching means secured to the other end of said bar for guiding the pointed end of the spring-biased pin in its movement between open unlatched and closed latched positions, said pin-guiding and latching means comprising a latch recess into which the point of the pin may be guided and latched, and a deflector guide in the path of the pointed end of the pin and behind which the pointed end of the pin snaps into latched position in its spring actuated latching movement, and manually operated means for opposing the action of said pin-biasing spring means for maintaining the pointed end of the pin away from latched position, releasable to enable the spring means to move said pointed end to latched position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,070,202 Strange Aug. 12, 1913 1,963,446 Peters June 19, 1934 2,562,931 Dexter Apr. 4, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 41,981 Austria of 1910 19,048 Denmark of 19l4 

